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West Asia tension shifting to Sinai? Israel sees Egypt’s military build-up with concern, says report

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 16:28:01 +0000

Israel has recently noted a military buildup by Egypt in the Sinai Peninsula, according to The Jerusalem Post report, citing a security source on Monday.

"Egypt has deployed forces beyond the permitted quota, expanded port facilities, and extended runways at airports," The Jerusalem Post quoted the source as saying, adding that these actions violate the peace agreement between the two countries.

Regarding the entry of Egyptian forces beyond the permitted quota, security officials emphasised that "such actions are reversible – it is not a problem to pull tanks back."

The security source said that Israel is committed to maintaining the peace agreement and will not alter its deployment along the border.

However, the source also added, "Israel will not accept the situation and will not tolerate violations from Cairo."

Israel is currently in discussions with both Cairo and Washington on the matter.

"Washington is responsible for upholding the peace agreement and must ensure it is implemented as written," the source was quoted as saying.

So far, Israel has refrained from commenting on Egypt’s military buildup, aside from a few rare statements.

In February, Israel’s Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter said that Egypt’s military buildup in Sinai is "intolerable."

"For a long time, this issue was pushed aside, but it is continuing. This will be a topic we are going to put on the table – very soon and very firmly," the ambassador had said.

Iraq and Syrian leaders discuss future cooperation

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Tue, 01 Apr 2025 13:48:33 +0000

In the wake of the end of the Ramadan and the Eid al-Fitr holiday, the leaders of Iraq and Syria held an important phone call. Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa spoke on the phone on April 1.

This comes as both countries are at a crossroads. Syria is trying to unify itself after years of civil war. Both countries face threats from ISIS, and there are US forces in both countries. In addition, the Kurdish regions of both countries are very important.

Al-Sudani’s office said that he “congratulated the Syrian people on the formation of their new government and reiterated Iraq’s commitment to respecting Syria’s political choices.” Shafaq News in Iraq noted that the Iraqi Prime Minister also “stressed the importance of an inclusive political process that ensures representation of all national components in Syrian society, ‘for a secure and stable future for Syria and the region as a whole.’”

The Iraqi leader also condemned Israel’s attacks on Syria. Israel has carried out airstrikes over the last months in Syria, claiming to target threats that might emerge. Iraq and Syria do not recognize Israel. Iraq has many Iranian-backed militias that have targeted Israel over the last year using drones.

Iraq says it is looking forward to “stronger economic collaboration, citing shared interests and opportunities for deeper ties between Iraq and Syria,” Shafaq noted.

President Ahmed al-Shara'a speaks during the formation of the new Syrian government. March 29, 2025. (photo credit: REUTERS/KHALIL ASHAWI)

The discussion comes amid some controversies in Iraq. The Popular Mobilization Units of Iran-backed militias continue to pose a challenge for Baghdad. These armed groups are officially part of the paramilitary forces of Iraq. However, they also carry out many operations independently. Recent discussions have focused on reining them in or even extending their mandate with a new law.

The comments by the Iraqi leader amid the phone call with the Syrian leader come after Syria sent its foreign minister to Iraq last month. This comes as Iran seeks to shore up its support for countries in the region amid US threats. Iran has threatened that it would retaliate against US bases in the region, a warning to Gulf countries not to participate in any US strikes.

Iran's outreach to Iraq

Iran is also doing outreach to Iraq to try to safeguard its interests, such as the militias in Iraq. Iranian state media said on April 1 that Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi says “that any threats directed at Iran will result in regret for its adversaries.” The report noted that “Araqchi said in an interview with Al-Masirah, a Yemeni TV channel, that the claim suggesting that attacking Yemen is a prelude to attacking Iran is nothing new and that Iran has heard similar threats in the past.

This is important because Iran is trying to bolster both the Houthis in Yemen and the militias in Iraq, as Iran senses that it is losing influence in the region.

As Bangladesh builds China ties, India looks on

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 20:26:33 +0000

After meeting last week with the leader of Bangladesh's interim government, Muhammad Yunus, Chinese President Xi Jinping said Beijing is "willing to work with Bangladesh to push bilateral cooperation to a new level."

Yunus, an economist and Nobel laureate, became the chief adviser to Bangladesh's interim government after former leader Sheikh Hasina was forced to step down amid a popular student-led uprising in August 2024.

Yunus' press secretary Shafiqul Alam quickly labelled the chief adviser's first foreign tour as a "grand success."

Yunus came home from China having secured $2.1 billion (€1.94 billion) in Chinese investments, loans and grants, his office said.

A major part of this is establishing a Chinese Industrial Economic Zone (CIEZ) in Bangladesh, with nearly 30 Chinese companies pledged $1 billion for the project, coming after Yunus urged more private Chinese investment in Bangladesh's manufacturing sector.

China also plans to lend $400 million to modernize Bangladesh's second-largest port at Mongla. Beijing is also considering enhanced cooperation in water resource management.

And China again pledged to support Bangladesh in its effort to repatriate over a million Rohingya refugees currently living in crowded refugee camps after fleeing persecution in neighboring Myanmar.

Former diplomat Munshi Faiz Ahmad said Yunus's meeting with Xi was a positive sign for the interim government.

"Some countries hesitate to commit large-scale corporations with an interim government. But China didn't hesitate to deal with Muhammad Yunus. It resumed the ties that were stagnant after the fall of the previous government," Ahmed, the former Bangladesh ambassador to China, told DW.

Benefits and risks for Bangladesh

Jasmin Lorch, a senior researcher at the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), told DW that the visit harbors both benefits and risks for Bangladesh from a geostrategic perspective.

"On the one hand, it contributes to further diversifying Bangladesh's international alliances, thereby reducing its reliance on India, with which relations have begun to deteriorate, as well as its reliance on the US, whose foreign policy has become more unreliable under President Donald Trump," she said.

However, the expert added that Bangladesh increasing ties with China is "bound to anger India," as it brings Beijing's influence closer to its border.

"Deeping cooperation with China in areas such as the modernization of Mongla port or, potentially, the Teesta River project, will strengthen Bangladesh's integration into China's Belt and Road Initiative, an integration India rejects," she added.

Trade deficits are another issue on the table, as Bangladesh's exports, mostly textiles, to China amount to a fraction of the over $23 billion in bilateral trade. China has offered a zero-tariff market access, which could open the door to more Bangladeshi products.

"China can be a big market for our leather products. Mangos and jackfruits will be exported to the country soon. We can also try to export other agricultural products as China is the biggest market for them," Al Mamun Mirdha, secretary general of the Bangladesh-China Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCCI), told DW.

However, analyst Lorch pointed out that from an economic and development perspective, enhancing ties with China is a "double-edged sword."

"Chinese investment and economic engagement usually come with almost no requirements regarding social and environmental standards," she said, adding that the extent to which Bangladeshi laborers and the Bangladeshi population at large will benefit remains unclear.

"Moreover, the related infrastructure projects may entail serious environmental risks," she said.

Bangladesh-India ties sour after Hasina ouster

Yunus took charge of Bangladesh after Hasina fled to India following her ouster.

India had been the biggest benefactor of Hasina's government, and her departure sent cross-border relations into a tailspin, culminating in Yunus deciding to make his first state visit to China, rather than India.

Yunus had reportedly wanted to visit India before traveling to China, but New Delhi did not respond positively to Dhaka's request.

"We showed our interest and asked the Indian side as early as in December last year for a bilateral visit of Chief Adviser Professor Yunus to India. This was done weeks before his visit to China was finalized. Unfortunately, we didn't receive a positive response," Yunus' Press Secretary Alam told Indian newspaper The Hindu the last week. Alam added that Yunus was keen to maintain warm ties with India.

Analyst Lorch said that Bangladesh's interim government seems to be very aware that it needs good neighborly ties with India.

Although India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has yet to meet Yunus, the Indian leader did send recently a letter to Bangladesh's leadership marking the country's Independence Day, lauding bilateral ties.

"This day stands as a testament to our shared history and sacrifices, that have laid the foundation of our bilateral partnership," Modi wrote to Yunus.

"We remain committed to advancing this partnership, driven by our common aspirations for peace, stability, and prosperity, and based on mutual sensitivity to each other's interests and concerns."

However, ties remain strained over Hasina's continued presence in India.

"Anti-Indian sentiment has been rising in Bangladesh, owing to the Modi government's close relations with the former autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina and because the Modi government has not responded to Bangladesh's requests to extradite her for trial," said analyst Lorch.

"Given the strong historical and cultural ties between the two countries, an easing of diplomatic relations would be essential, and Modi's recent letter to Yunus is hopefully an indication of that," she added.

However, Dhaka-based political commentator Zahid Ur Rahman doubt India will normalize relations with interim leader Yunus, whose government has said it is laying the groundwork for elections, but a date has yet to be set.

"India wants to have a monopoly over Bangladesh, which was possible during former prime minister Sheikh Hasina's era. Bangladesh has adopted an independent foreign policy under Yunus, which is not influenced by New Delhi, and the Modi government doesn't like it," Rahman told DW.

Meanwhile, Yunus has again sought a meeting with Modi in a bid to reset relations, with both leaders expected to be at an Asian economic summit in Bangkok later this week.

Yunus' government has yet to receive a response, with Indian foreign minister S. Jaishankar saying the request was "under review."

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Missiles from Yemen send millions of Israelis scrambling for shelter

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 23:50:45 +0000

Air-raid sirens pealed across central Israel on Thursday following missiles launched at the Jewish state by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist group, sending millions of civilians running for bomb shelters.

“Following alerts that were activated a short time ago in several areas of the country, two missiles launched from Yemen were intercepted,” the Israeli army said. “Both missiles were intercepted before they crossed into the country’s territory, alerts were activated according to policy.”

Sirens were activated as far north of Kfar Saba, some 15 miles from Tel Aviv, and as far south as the Hebron area in southern Judea, the Israel Defense Forces said.

Air-raid sirens pealed across central Israel on Thursday following missiles launched at the Jewish state by Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist group.

Alerts also sounded in Jerusalem.

Israel’s Magen David Adom medical emergency response group said there were no immediate reports of injuries from the attack, except for anxiety attacks and people who were hurt on their way to a shelter.

The attack was the second from Yemen this week.

On Monday night, the IDF intercepted a Houthi missile heading for Israel’s densely-populated central region.

The attack was the second from Yemen this week, according to reports.

People take cover as a siren sounds a warning following a missile that was launched from Yemen in downtown Jerusalem on March 27.

Local media aired footage of the missile being intercepted over Jerusalem.

Shrapnel fell in the city of Beit Shemesh, some 12 miles west of Jerusalem in the Judean foothills.

That attack followed another on Sunday morning, which likewise triggered air-raid sirens, including in Tel Aviv.

The missile was successfully shot down.

Since Hamas initiated the war on Oct. 7, 2023, by murdering some 1,200 people in Israel, the Houthis have fired over 350 drones and missiles at the Jewish state in support of the Palestinian terror group, in addition to carrying out numerous attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

The Houthis resumed their attacks on Israel on March 18, marking the first time that the country’s air defenses were activated against a threat from Yemen since mid-January, when a Gaza truce went into effect.

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Iran responds to Trump's nuclear talks proposal as U.S. sends bombers to region

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Thu, 27 Mar 2025 23:41:38 +0000

Iran delivered a formal written response to President Trump's letter proposing new nuclear talks and threatening consequences if a deal is not reached swiftly, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday.

Why it matters: Trump gave Iran a two-month deadline to sign a new nuclear deal or face potential military action in his letter, sent three weeks ago.

Driving the news: Iran delivered its response via the Gulf Sultanate of Oman, which duly notified the U.S., a source with knowledge of the issue confirmed to Axios.

The Omanis briefed the U.S. on the messages they received from the Iranians and will deliver the Iranian letter to the White House in the coming days, the source said.
The source did not offer details on the nature of the Iranian response. The White House didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Araghchi said in a news conference that Iran maintains its position that it won't negotiate directly with the Trump administration so long as Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign is in place, but is willing to hold indirect talks.

State of play: Trump and his top advisers have left the door open for talks while also using the threat of military force.

In recent days, the U.S. military sent several B-2 stealth bombers to the Diego Garcia military base in the Indian Ocean in a deployment a U.S. official said was "not disconnected" from Trump's two-month deadline.
The B-2 bombers can carry huge bunker buster bombs that would be a key element in any possible military action against Iran's underground nuclear facilities.
A spokesperson for U.S. Strategic Command confirmed the deployment to Axios and said Stratcom "routinely conducts global operations in coordination with other combatant commands, services, and participating U.S. government agencies to deter, detect and, if necessary, defeat strategic attacks against the United States and its allies."

Catch up quick: Three weeks ago in an interview with Fox News' Maria Bartiromo, Trump revealed that he'd sent a letter to the Iranian leader proposing direct negotiations.

That letter was delivered by his envoy Steve Witkoff to United Arab Emirates Mohammed Bin Zayed (MBZ), with MBZ's envoy Anwar Gargash traveling to Tehran to deliver it to Araghchi.
That same week, Trump said the U.S. is "down to the final moments" with Iran. "We can't let them have a nuclear weapon. Something is going to happen very soon. I would rather have a peace deal than the other option, but the other option will solve the problem," he said.

Flashback: Oman played a key role mediating between the U.S. and Iran during the Obama and Biden administrations.

Several rounds of indirect talks have been held in Oman between B
iden's advisers and Iranian officials. These talks mostly focused on regional issues and hostages, but didn't lead to serious negotiations over the nuclear program.

Which Countries Helped Develop And Build The F-35 And What Did They Do?

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 21:19:59 +0000

While the world has seen lots of fighter jets since the first one entered combat in 1944, few have been as awe-inspiring as the F-35.

The F-35, officially known as the F-35 Lightning II, has been around for decades, with its first flight dating back to 2006. Its lead manufacturer, Lockheed Martin, describes it as "the centerpiece of 21st-century global security," and this can be seen in the plane's systems and machinery, which have made the F-35 perhaps the most advanced jet in the world.

While 19 countries are involved with building the F-35 Lightning II today, It was a smaller group that came together to bring this feat in aviation history to life. American defense and aerospace manufacturer Lockheed Martin was the prime contractor for the aircraft, yes, but nine countries ended up collaborating in its development. Let's explore each of them and see what they brought to the table.

Where It All Started

A U.S. Marines F-35 Lightning II turning in the sky.

The F-35's history dates back to the late 1990s, when the U.S. came up with the idea of a lightweight, well-armed -- but cheaper -- aircraft that would be easily adaptable for the Air Force, Navy and Marines. This spawned the Joint Strike Fighter program, with American companies such as Lockheed Martin, General Electric, Northrop Grumman, and Pratt & Whitney serving as key partners. And eight countries stepped up to lend a hand: the United Kingdom, Denmark, Australia, Turkey, Norway, Canada, Italy, and the Netherlands.

The program opened up three levels of partnership, to which countries interested in the F-35 could contribute. Their contributions dictated the level they would settle into and, thus, the benefits they would enjoy. The first level demanded a 10% contribution to the plane's multi-billion-dollar development cost. The second level required a $1 billion contribution, while the final level's contribution ranged between $125 million and $175 million.

The United Kingdom, present in the project since Day 1, was the only level one partner. Its key contributions included some from British manufacturer BAE Systems, which provided cutting-edge software, including for networking, communication, and navigation. BAE also developed designs such as life support systems. Before the aircraft's concept was settled upon, specialists from the U.K. made suggestions and offered solutions for the final design. As the project took off, more British manufacturers got involved, including Rolls-Royce, which contributed its short take-off and vertical landing system. A British pilot even made the first test flight.

The Level 2 Partners

An F-35 Lightning II jet fighter flying into the sky.

The Netherlands and Italy were the only countries to join the program at a level two partner status. Although the Netherlands joined the Joint Striker Fighter program in 1997, it wasn't until 2002 that it graduated into being a System Design and Development partner. It secured a number of contracts through companies such as GKN Fokker that allowed it to work on the F-35's landing gear maintenance, doors, hatches and drag parachute system. Other Dutch companies focused on the aircraft's energy supply systems, radar systems, and mechanical components.

Italy joined the Joint Striker Fighter program a year after the Netherlands, signing up at the concept demonstration phase. Among Italy's biggest contributions to the program is providing segments of the F-35's wings through the aeronautics company Alenia Aermacchi. Additionally, Italy opened up a final assembly and checkout line in Cameri, producing F-35s for Italy and the Netherlands as well as providing maintenance, overhauls and updates for the F-35s operating in the Euro-Mediterranean area. The center has already produced a number of flight-ready F-35s.

Denmark And Australia

An F-35 Lightning II jet fighter breaks the sound barrier.

Denmark joined the program at level three partner status in 2002, eager to help shape the F-35. At the time, the program was in its design and development phase, and Denmark was heavily involved with its technical aspects, even offering a Danish F-16 as a chase plane. The Danish company Terma has worked on the F-35 since the 2000s, providing items such as air-to-ground pylons, center fuselage composite panels, horizontal and vertical tail composite skins, engine element rings, and radar modules. Denmark still manufactures parts for upcoming F-35 jets.

The Best Equipment A Military Can Have

A U.S. Air Force F-35 flying at sunset.

Norway, Turkey, and Canada are the final level three countries that signed on to help develop the F-35. The first, Norway, has been working through the Norwegian defense company Kongsberg to supply the F-35's vertical leading edges, air-to-air pylons, and landing-gear closeout panels. Additionally, the company produces components for the aircraft's center fuselage.

Turkey joined the program in 2002, aiming to contribute approximately $175 million. Turkish Aerospace Industries contracted to provide key F-35 components, such as the center fuselage, while other Turkish companies, such as Alp Aviation and Kale Aerospace, supplied parts including airframe structures. However, Turkey was removed from the F-35 program in 2019 after buying air-defense missiles from Russia, though Turkey continued to supply parts for a few years. Alone among the original partners, it owns no F-35s.

Canada was a part of the Joint Strike Fighter as it breathed to life in 1997. Like the other countries, Canada has been working through its companies, key of which is the Magellan Aerospace Corporation. Magellan's Kitchener, Ontario plant made history as the first international partner to supply F-35 parts in 2003. The company has provided several parts, including vane box assemblies, horizontal tails, and transition ducts.

The F-35 Lightning II has three distinct, imposing variants, each equally powerful. Besides eight of the original nine partners, eight other countries, customers of U.S. Foreign Military Sales, have them in their arsenals: Japan, Poland, Israel, Switzerland, Belgium, South Korea, Finland, and Singapore.

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NASA releases first high definition photos showing incredible sunset from the moon

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 15:05:18 +0000

NASA has released the first high-definition photos of a sunset on the moon, taken by the privately owned Blue Ghost lander shortly before it went dark over the weekend.

Firefly's Blue Ghost landed on the moon on March 2, the first private spacecraft to touch down upright on the moon's surface and perform its entire mission. It kept taking pictures and collecting scientific data five hours into the lunar night before it died of lack of solar energy.

NASA's Joel Kearns said the images captured by Blue Ghost are the first high-definition photos of the sun setting on the lunar surface.

Scientists will need to analyze them in depth, he noted, before making any determination about the horizon glow captured in at least one of the photos and whether it was created by levitating dust. That theory was put forth more than a half-century ago by Apollo 17's Gene Cernan, the last astronaut to walk on the moon.

US-SPACE-MOON-FIREFLY

"What we've got is a really beautiful, aesthetic image showing some really unusual features," Kearns said at a news conference.

Blue Ghost carried out 10 experiments for NASA under the space agency's commercial lunar delivery program. While all the objectives of the mission were met to some extent, the lander's onboard drill could only penetrate 3 feet (1 meter) into the moon versus the 10 feet (3 meters) that had been planned.

Scientists are eager to examine the photos of the phenomenon known as "lunar horizon glow," which was first documented in 1972 by one of the last men to have set foot on the moon's surface, Eugene Cernan, during the Apollo 17 mission.

"These are the first high-definition images taken of the sun going down and then going into darkness at the horizon," said Joel Kearns, NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration, science mission directorate. "The images themselves are beautiful, they're really aesthetic, but I know there are a bunch of folks looking at them now that study the moon ... Now it's time for the specialists in the field to examine it and compare it to the other data we have from the mission and see what conclusions they can propose and draw from."

Eclipse captured... from the Moon

Jason Kim, the company's chief executive, said he was extremely proud the company was able to achieve it's first fully successful commercial moon landing.

"I truly believe Firefly and Blue Ghost's historic mission will be a new chapter in textbooks and become a beacon of what humanity can achieve," Kim said.

Trump releases classified JFK files on assassination. Here's what they say.

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Wed, 19 Mar 2025 14:49:07 +0000

WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday began releasing what it said were all of the government's classified files on the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy, making potentially tens of thousands of pages of unredacted records available to the public for the first time.

The release of the files comes after Trump signed a day one executive order in January aimed at fully releasing government documents related to the assassinations of Kennedy, his brother and presidential candidate Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, D-N.Y., and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.

The contents of the documents, and whether any previously unreleased information is in them, wasn't immediately clear. Historians quickly said they would need time to assess the flood of files to understand if they were significantly different from previous releases. So far, nothing in the documents has changed the long-held findings that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963 while the then-president rode in a motorcade in Dallas.

Read the JFK files

Looking to read the JFK files yourself? You can find them on the National Archives' website here.

Most of the files are scans of documents, and some are blurred or have become faint or difficult to read in the decades since Kennedy's assassination. There are also photographs and sounds recordings, mostly from the 1960s.

President John F. Kennedy became the 35th president of the United States on Jan. 20, 1961. He was the first Catholic and the youngest to be elected president. He was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, during an electoral tour.

Report from Russia: Oswald was a lousy shot

One document dated Nov. 20, 1991 appears to be a teletype of U.S. intelligence reporting on Lee Harvey Oswald, his time in the Soviet Union, his stormy relationship with his Soviet wife – and his apparently poor marksmanship.

The document says that a KGB official named Nikonov reviewed files from the feared Soviet security service, the KGB, to determine if Oswald “had been a KGB agent.”

Reuters reported that the document cited a report from an American professor named E.B. Smith who reported he had talked in Moscow about Oswald with KGB official “Slava” Nikonov, who said he had reviewed five thick files about the assassin to determine if he had been a KGB agent.

“Nikonov is now confident that Oswald was at no time an agent controlled by the KGB,” the document says.

From the description of Oswald in the files, Nikonov “doubted that anyone could control Oswald, but noted that the KBG (sic) watched him closely and constantly while he was in the USSR.”

Nikonov also commented that Oswald had “a stormy relationship with his Soviet wife, who rode him incessantly/”

The KGB files “also reflected that Oswald was a poor shot when he tried target firing in the USSR,” the document said.

Some conspiracy theorists have latched onto bits and pieces of the CIA’s files on Oswald, including those about his erratic behavior, as proof he either didn’t act alone – or didn’t actually have anything to do with Kennedy’s assassination.

Documents touch on Lee Harvey Oswald theories

Some of the documents also include references to various conspiracy theories suggesting that Oswald left the Soviet Union in 1962 intent on assassinating the popular young president.

Department of Defense documents from 1963 covered the Cold War of the early 1960s and the U.S. involvement in Latin America, trying to thwart Cuban leader Fidel Castro's support of communist forces in other countries.

The documents suggest that Castro would not go so far as to provoke a war with the United States or escalate to the point "that would seriously and immediately endanger the Castro regime."

"It appears more likely that Castro might intensify his support of subversive forces in Latin America," the document reads.

What did experts initially say about the JFK files?

James Johnston, author of "Murder, Inc.: The CIA under John F. Kennedy" told USA TODAY that he wasn’t expecting any bombshells, given that virtually all of the relevant agencies – including the CIA – had promised to turn over everything they had years ago to the National Archives in 1988.

“If it was going to embarrass the agency or tell a different story, they wouldn't have turned them over to the National Archives in the first place,” said Johnston, who was a staff member of the congressional Church Committee that investigated the CIA in 1975. “And if they were withholding them before, I’m guessing they would continue to withhold them.”

Johnston cited one particular document that he knows exists but that he says hasn’t been turned over to the National Archives – the first one-on-one conversation between President Lyndon Johnson and CIA Director John McCone right after Johnson took office after Kennedy’s assassination.

McCone was long suspected of withholding information from the Warren Commission, the panel Johnson created to investigate Kennedy’s murder, according to Philip Shenon, author of “A Cruel and Shocking Act: The Secret History of the Kennedy Assassination.”

McCone was kept on as CIA director by Johnson and pledged full cooperation with the commission, which was led by Chief Justice Earl Warren, Shenon wrote in a 2015 Politico article about his book’s findings. He testified that the CIA had no evidence to suggest that Oswald was part of any conspiracy, foreign or domestic, but rather a former Marine and self-proclaimed Marxist who acted as a delusional lone wolf.

That depiction of Oswald was ultimately adopted by the Warren Commission in its final report. But years later, Shenon said, the CIA itself acknowledged that McCone had withheld information from commission investigators.

What is the Warren Commission?

Several of the documents released Tuesday are tied to the Warren Commission: But what is it?

After Kennedy was shot in 1963, his successor Lyndon B. Johnson created a commission to investigate the assassination. The Warren Commission determined that Oswald, who was arrested and later shot by a nightclub owner on live television, acted alone.

Still, the assassination has fueled intense debate and a myriad of theories challenging the conclusion of the Warren Commission. Polls have shown that many Americans believe Kennedy’s death was part of a wider conspiracy.

Part of Trump’s promise of ‘maximum transparency’ at the nation’s intelligence agencies

Trump himself did not immediately post about the document release. But Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s director of National Intelligence, hailed their release, saying it was part of Trump’s promise for “maximum transparency and a commitment to rebuild the trust of the American people in the Intelligence Community (IC) and federal agencies.”

Critics have long accused the intelligence community, and CIA in particular, of withholding potentially revelatory information about the case. Still, intelligence officials over the years have insisted that they have released everything important and that what’s left was withheld only to protect highly classified sources and methods of gathering intelligence and protecting sources.

In a statement, Gabbard said that she immediately sent out a directive across the intelligence community after Trump’s Monday announcement ordering everyone to provide all unredacted records within the collection of documents about Kennedy's assassination the national archives for immediate release.

JFK file experts said those documents almost certainly have all been made public and viewed already, but with mostly minor redactions.

Not all documents posted online Tuesday night

The documents were released just before 7 p.m.

The National Archives and Records Administration, the keeper of the documents, posted them with this statement:

“In accordance with President Donald Trump’s directive of March 17, 2025, all records previously withheld for classification that are part of the President John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection are released.”

The National Archives said it partnered with agencies across the federal government to comply with the President’s directive in support of Executive Order 14176. It said the records are available to access either online or in person, via hard copy or on analog media formats, at the National Archives at College Park, Maryland.

“As the records continue to be digitized, they will be posted to this page,” the National Archives said, suggesting that not all of the documents were being released on Tuesday in digital form.

The National Archives also said some information might still be withheld under court seal or for grand jury secrecy, and because some tax return information is subject to Internal Revenue Code prohibitions.

A Carcano Model 91/38 rifle is seen near where Lee Harvey Oswald ditched his 50 years earlier the Sixth Floor Museum formally the site of the Texas School Book Depository October 8, 2013 in Dallas, Texas. The sixth floor of the Dallas County Administration Building now houses the Sixth Floor Museum which is dedicated to the history behind the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy. November 22 will mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK in Dallas's Dealey Plaza.© BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AFP via Getty Images

'People have been waiting for decades for this'

The digital document dump came one day after Trump announced the files would be released during a visit to the John F. Kennedy Center of the Performing Arts, which he's taken over as board chairman.

"People have been waiting for decades for this," Trump told reporters.

"We have a tremendous amount of paper. You've got a lot of reading,” Trump added. “I don't believe we're going to redact anything.”

The CIA and Federal Bureau of Investigation, which were involved in JFK assassination investigations and in the document release, had no immediate comment.

Documents related to the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy are displayed after they were released following an order from U.S. President Donald Trump, in Washington D.C. on March 18, 2025.© Carlos Barria, REUTERS

'An encouraging start'

JFK assassination scholar Jefferson Morley said in a statement late Tuesday night that the release of the first tranche of documents “is an encouraging start.”

“We now have complete versions of approximately a third of the redacted JFK documents held by the National Archives,” or 1,124 of approximately 3,500 documents, said Morley, vice president of the Mary Ferrell Foundation, a non-profit that promotes access to historical government documents

He is also author of the JFK Facts newsletter and three books on the CIA that portray the agency’s involvement in the events leading up to the assassination.

“Seven of ten JFK files held by the Archives and sought by JFK researchers are now in the public record,” Morley said. “These long-secret records shed new light on JFK’s mistrust of the CIA, the Castro assassination plots, the surveillance of Oswald in Mexico City, and CIA propaganda operations involving Oswald.”

But the release does not include two thirds of the promised files, or any of 500-plus IRS records or 2,400 recently discovered FBI files, Morley said.

“Nonetheless,” he said, “this is most positive news on the declassification of JFK files since the 1990s."

- Josh Meyer

A mad Justice Department scramble to meet Trump’s deadline

Trump’s order reportedly set off a scramble within the Justice Department’s National Security Division to meet Trump's deadline, according to ABC News and Reuters.

In an email just before 5 p.m. ET Monday, a senior official within DOJ's Office of Intelligence said that even though the FBI had already conducted "an initial declassification review" of the documents, "all" of the attorneys in the operations section now had to provide "a second set of eyes" to help with this "urgent NSD-wide project.,” ABC News reported Tuesday.

The process of releasing the files was set in motion on Trump’s first day in office on Jan. 20, when he signed an executive order aimed at fully releasing all government documents related to the assassinations of Kennedy, his brother and presidential candidate Sen. Robert F. Kennedy, D-N.Y., and civil rights icon Martin Luther King Jr.

The suit worn by Dallas Homicide Detective Jim Leavelle is seen in front of a photo of the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald by Jack Ruby in the Sixth Floor Museum formally the site of the Texas School Book Depository October 8, 2013 in Dallas, Texas. The sixth floor of the Dallas County Administration Building now houses the Sixth Floor Museum which is dedicated to the history behind the assassination of US President John F. Kennedy. November 22 will mark the 50th anniversary of the assassination of JFK in Dallas's Dealey Plaza.© BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI, AFP via Getty Images

A new FBI tranche of 2,400 JFK records

Last month, the FBI said it found some 2,400 new records linked to Kennedy's assassination as well.

The agency said it was in the process of passing the documents to the National Archives and Records Administration. It's unclear what revelations, if any, are contained in the newly discovered files.

Kennedy’s assassination has long been the subject of conspiracies after Oswald, the Marine veteran identified as Kennedy's assassin, was shot and killed days later.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump's Health and Human Services secretary, has called for release of the files to see if any U.S. officials were involved in the assassination or potential coverup. Several U.S. investigations had found no such evidence.

While millions of government records related to the Kennedy assassination have been previously released, some information remains classified and redacted. Trump said he instructed his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, to oversee the release of the remaining files.

A federal law passed in 1992 required the Kennedy assassination records to be fully released by Oct. 26, 2017 unless the president at the time determined their release would cause "identifiable harm" to the military defense, intelligence operations, law enforcement, or conduct of foreign relations of such gravity that it "outweighs the public interest in disclosure."

Trump was president when the 2017 deadline arrived. He ordered the release of nearly 2,900 records, but kept others secret because of concerns by the CIA and FBI that their release could hurt national security.

Former President Joe Biden acted in 2021, 2022 and 2023 to give agencies more time to review the records.

The documents released in 2017 included details on the FBI and CIA investigations into Oswald and information on covert Cold War operations.

Syrian Forces Battle Insurgents in Serious Test for New Government

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Fri, 07 Mar 2025 15:00:07 +0000

Syrian government forces are responding to a series of clashes and ambushes launched by partisans of the deposed Assad regime, the biggest domestic military challenge yet to the former rebel group trying to hold the country together with stretched manpower.

Government security forces launched an “extensive combing operation” along Syria’s Mediterranean coast, the heartland of the Assads’ Alawite religious minority, after gunmen loyal to the old regime launched deadly ambushes on security forces in the town of Jableh, according to the state news agency SANA.

The battles in Jableh and the surrounding area overnight were among the fiercest since the new government’s forces overthrew Bashar al-Assad in early December, ending more than a decade of civil war in which the former president used torture, executions and chemical attacks to try to suppress an uprising by his own people.

The clashes reignited tensions across Syria, with throngs of supporters of the government taking to the streets in cities such as Hama and Homs in support of the security operation.

The developments added to a compounding series of political and security challenges facing the new government headed by former rebel leader Ahmad al-Sharaa, who is also negotiating with Kurdish-led militias controlling a swath of northeast Syria and contending with an Israeli demand—backed by military strikes—that it demilitarize southern Syria.

Syrians in the city of Idlib gathered Thursday at a rally to oppose attacks on the new government’s forces.© bilal al hammoud/Shutterstock

“Old regime remnants are taking advantage of the military and security capacity limitations of the Syrian government to try to derail Syria’s political transition,” said Lina Khatib, an associate fellow at Chatham House.

Reinforcements poured in Friday morning, with convoys of armed men riding in pickup trucks rolling into the city of Tartus, according to images published by SANA. Syrian authorities also imposed curfews until Saturday morning in the coastal provinces of Tartus and Latakia, both Alawite-majority areas.

“We have fully mobilized our forces in the governorate, and we were able to absorb their attack in the Jableh countryside,” said Lt. Col. Mustafa Knefati, the head of the General Security Directorate in Syria’s Latakia governorate.

Highlighting the risk of wider unrest, a former commander from Assad’s forces, Brig. Gen. Ghiath Sulayman Dalla, said that he and other former military leaders had launched a “Military Council for the Liberation of Syria” that he said aimed to free “the entire Syrian territory from all occupying and terrorist forces.”

Dalla was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2020 for leading Syrian military forces during indiscriminate attacks on civilians including chemical attacks.

Sharaa’s forces, which numbered around 25,000 when Sunni Islamist rebels helped overthrow Assad last year, are thinly stretched trying to secure a country of about 24 million people. His government now faces the dilemma of cracking down on pro-Assad forces hard enough to prevent the emergence of a full-blown insurgency without alienating Alawites, who are anxious about their future and a series of attacks on their community by unidentified forces.

Idlib was one of a number of cities where Syrians turned out to reject the pro-Assad push to regain control.© bilal al hammoud/Shutterstock

On Friday, residents of the coastal region and security analysts tracking the situation said armed men carried out beatings, arbitrary arrests and looting during the security campaign.

“The way it’s being handled carries massive risks,” said Nanar Hawach, a senior analyst for Syria at International Crisis Group. “If this continues, the honeymoon is destined to end, and localized insurgencies will likely start popping up. We were afraid of this kind of crackdown, because they’re going to fuel these insurgencies more.”

A spokesman for the government in Damascus didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the alleged abuses.

Since the fall of Assad, Sharaa has consistently preached a message of reconciliation, and his government has investigated attacks on Alawites, who are worried about sectarian reprisals after half a century of Assad family dictatorship. Accounting for about 10% of Syria’s population, Alawites sometimes occupied privileged positions in the Assad regime but also fell victim to its repressive divide-and-conquer instincts, and many opposed the regime.

The clashes come after months in which the security situation in areas held by the new government has been relatively calm, ending years of war and civil strife during the conflict with the Assad government.

The current security operation will strain the new government’s forces, after Sharaa decided to dismantle the old regime’s military and security forces, attempting to merge opposition groups into a new army.

During the operation along the coast, security forces arrested Ibrahim Huweija, a former head of Air Force Intelligence, which under Assad was one of the most loyal and violent security agencies with a long and well-documented record of the use of torture and disappearances against the regime’s opponents, according to SANA.

Turkey and Saudi Arabia, two major Sunni Muslim powers in the Middle East, voiced support for the Syrian government in its battle against the insurgents. Sharaa visited Jordan and Egypt this week as a part of his effort to gain acceptance among Arab states.

Elon Musk's SpaceX is getting ready to take the International Space Station out of orbit

kaazmi2012@gmail.com (Super User) — Sat, 22 Feb 2025 07:14:46 +0000

SpaceX CEO Elon Musk in Oval Office at the White House on Feb. 11.Elon Musk says it’s about time for SpaceX to deorbit the International Space Station — “as soon as possible.”

“It has served its purpose. There is very little incremental utility,” the SpaceX CEO wrote on X, the social media platform he owns. “Let’s go to Mars.”

NASA awarded SpaceX a contract worth up to $843 million to deorbit the ISS no earlier than 2030, an endeavor that the company expects will cost it about $680 million, according to federal documents. SpaceX has been tasked with creating a new vehicle — described as a “tug boat” — which will be used to push the station into the Pacific Ocean from space.

SpaceX’s “mission suitability” — which weighs the firm’s small business utilization, management approach, and technical approach — scored an 822 out of 1,000. That allowed it to outperform rivals Northrop Grumman Systems (NOC) and AlphaSpaces, which received poorer scores.

The ISS has been orbiting Earth since construction began in 1998. Since its first crew arrived in November 2000, it has hosted hundreds of visitors from 20 countries. Currently, the ISS is playing home to crews from SpaceX, Soyuz, and Boeing.

The space station’s lifetime has been extended several times over the years, although experts believe it would be risky to allow it to remain in space after 2030. The ISS’s orbit will be allowed to naturally decay in 2026, which should make it ready to deorbit in mid-2030.

In response to a question from a reporter on X, Musk said that the timetable for deorbiting the ISS is up to President Donald Trump. However, he offered potentially dueling recommendations that action be taken “as soon as possible” and in two years.

When SpaceX sends its Crew-10 mission to the ISS as soon as March 12, the current SpaceX astronauts at the station will return. Joining them will be Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who flew to the ISS with Boeing’s (BA) Starliner, but stayed behind when the aircraft returned to Earth without them because of safety concerns.

Musk on Thursday alleged that Former President Joe Biden’s administration “flatly refused” an offer for SpaceX to return Wilmore and Williams because of political reasons. He wrote that SpaceX would have “made it work” within NASA’s annual budget. However, the Biden administration already had a deal with SpaceX to bring Wilmore and Williams back to Earth later this year.“I can tell you unequivocally, from a personal standpoint, that politics has not played any part in this decision,” then-NASA Administrator Bill Nelson said in August after announcing that the Starliner would not return with the astronauts. “It absolutely has nothing to do with it.”